David George "Duke" Zeibert was, for 44 years, the proprietor of a legendary restaurant in Washington, District of Columbia
Background
Zeibert was born in 1910 in Troy, New York, and as a young man drifted into the restaurant business, working his way up from busing to waiter and eventually landing in Washington at Connecticut Avenue and L Street, a prime downtown location in Washington, just four blocks from the White House.
Career
That was popular with Presidents, senators, lawyers, lobbyists, quarterbacks, coaches, and columnists. He was given the nickname Duke because he was always a fancy dresser. People started calling him Duke in Miami in the 1940s, when he showed up for work as a waiter in white silk pants.
He looked like Paul Whiteman, the band leader.
In 1980, after 30 years at Connecticut and L, Mr. Zeibert was forced to close his restaurant for several years while the building housing it was torn down and rebuilt.
As Mr. Krupin told it, he had been led to believe that Mr.
Zeibert would never reopen. The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) has named an annual award after Duke Zeibert, who was its first recipient in 1994.